Estonian Consulate General in Shanghai :: Newshttp://shanghai.vm.ee
en-ushttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rssWiseCMS 2.0hille.lepp@vm.eehille.lepp@vm.ee Five Estonian summer concerts to keep an eye onhttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-2161
<p>The summer is full of events and concerts in Estonia. If you are visiting the country and only have a limited time, then culture.ee has made it easier to choose from by listing a number of must-attend events.</p>
<p><a href="http://estoniaeuadm.estonia.eu/news/564--five-estonian-summer-concerts-to-keep-an-eye-on">Read more...</a></p>Thu, 16 Jul 2015 09:15:09 GMThttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-2161 Estonia’s e-residency goes globalhttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-2160
<p>On May 13, Estonia launched its global e-Residency online application portal at <strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><a href="http://e-resident.gov.ee" rel="nofollow" dir="ltr" data-expanded-url="http://e-resident.gov.ee" class="twitter-timeline-link" target="_blank" title="http://e-resident.gov.ee">e-resident.gov.ee</a></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://estoniaeuadm.estonia.eu/news/563--estonias-e-residency-goes-global">Read more...</a></p>Fri, 15 May 2015 14:11:56 GMThttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-2160The new Estonian government assumed office http://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-2144
<p><strong>The new Estonian government assumed office </strong></p>
<p>The Estonian Parliament approved Prime Minister Candidate Taavi Rõivas's new Cabinet on Wednesday, April 8 and the 14 ministers were sworn in and assumed office the following day, Thursday, April 9, 2015.</p>
<p><a href="http://estoniaeuadm.estonia.eu/news/562-the-new-estonian-government-assumed-office-">Read more...</a></p>Tue, 14 Apr 2015 12:00:08 GMThttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-2144PICTURES: Northern lights hypnotise Estonianshttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-2143
<div class="entry-thumb" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; background-color: #ffffff;"><img src="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/1024px-Virmalised_aurora_borealis-Janek-P%C3%A4rn-e1426680613288-940x681.jpg" class="attachment-single-project-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="1024px-Virmalised_,aurora_borealis Janek Pärn" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 0px; color: transparent; vertical-align: middle; max-width: 100%; height: auto; width: 620px;" /></div>
<p> </p>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;"><a id="dd_start" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc; float: left; clear: both;"></a></p>
<h3>A solar storm on Tuesday contributed to a mesmerising display of the aurora borealis, otherwise known as northern lights, across Estonia.</h3>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Aurora is a natural light display in the sky (from the Latin word aurora, “sunrise” or the Roman goddess of dawn), predominantly seen in the high latitude (Arctic and Antarctic) regions. Auroras are caused by charged particles, mainly electrons and protons, entering the atmosphere from above causing ionisation and excitation of atmospheric constituents, and consequent optical emissions.</p>
<p><strong>In Estonian, this natural phenomenon is called “virmalised” and people are eager to catch a glimpse of dancing lights when they illuminate the sky.&nbsp;These Instagram pictures catch some dazzling moments in Estonia.</strong></p>
<p><iframe src="https://instagram.com/p/0W_3HSRxmp/embed/" width="500" height="500" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<p><iframe src="https://instagram.com/p/0WlzGrHIEe/embed/" width="500" height="500" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<p><iframe src="https://instagram.com/p/0Wane4PIN_/embed/" width="500" height="500" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<p><iframe src="https://instagram.com/p/0WWrYNNfXy/embed/" width="500" height="500" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<p><iframe src="https://instagram.com/p/0WHU2KOrE8/embed/" width="500" height="500" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<p><iframe src="https://instagram.com/p/0WD4MwtCdh/embed/" width="500" height="500" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<p><iframe src="https://instagram.com/p/0Vz-2bmqJ4/embed/" width="500" height="500" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<p><iframe src="https://instagram.com/p/0XWZSACLdM/embed/" width="500" height="500" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p>
<p><iframe src="https://instagram.com/p/0XUMRCEWy8/embed/" width="500" height="500" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><br />
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;"><br /> Photo by Jüri Looring.</p>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;">Cover by Janek Pärn/Wikimedia Commons.</p>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;">Source:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.estonianworld.com">www.estonianworld.com</a></p>
<p> </p>Tue, 17 Mar 2015 22:00:00 GMThttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-2143Estonia becomes a member of the European Space Agencyhttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-2142
<p>&nbsp;<img src="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Taavi-Torim-940x580.jpg" class="attachment-single-project-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Taavi Torim" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 0px; color: transparent; vertical-align: middle; max-width: 100%; height: auto; width: 620px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; background-color: #ffffff;" /></p>
<h3><strong>The European Space Agency (ESA) welcomed Estonia as its 21st&nbsp;member on 4 February.</strong></h3>
<p>Anne Sulling, the Estonian minister of foreign trade and entrepreneurship, signed the&nbsp;accession agreement with the Paris-based space agency.</p>
<p>According to&nbsp;<a href="http://aviationweek.com/blog/esa-make-estonia-21st-member-state" target="_blank">Aviation Week</a>, Estonia spends several hundred million euros annually on space activities, including new financing for national research and development&nbsp;activities decided last year and a contribution to European meteorological organisation Eumetsat.</p>
<p>“The country has strong research facilities, particularly in the areas of astronomy and astrophysics, with the Observatory of Tartu and the Universities of Tartu and Tallinn,” Aviation Week said.</p>
<p>Estonia spent €330 million (US$373 million) on space activities in 2009, and has been contributing about €1.2 million per year to the ESA budget as part of a cooperation contract signed in 2010. A dozen Estonia-related space development projects have been initiated since then. Tallinn also supports European space as a member of Eumetsat, a contributor to the EU Common Space development project, and to Europe’s Copernicus environmental and monitoring and security system.</p>
<p>Flirting with space programmes goes back longer for the country. During the&nbsp;Cold War,&nbsp;Estonia was associated with and active in the extensive Soviet Union&nbsp;space programme. In the early 1970s, the first Soviet&nbsp;Saljut-type space station was equipped with the Estonian-built&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mir" title="Mir">Mikron</a>,&nbsp;a shining night clouds observer device. Several upgrades of the device were in service until the mid 1980s. In the mid 1980s, a telespectrometer&nbsp;FAZA&nbsp;(also known as&nbsp;Phasa) was constructed in Estonia for the Soviet orbital space station&nbsp;Mir. The device was used for study of the atmosphere and pollutants.</p>
<p>In 2013, Estonia became the 41st nation to have a&nbsp;man-made&nbsp;object in space, when its&nbsp;<a href="http://estonianworld.com/technology/estonia-becomes-space-nation-video/" target="_blank">first satellite, ESTCube-1</a>, was rocketed off to orbit the Earth. Around 100 students and scientists contributed to creation of the tiny one-kilogram satellite, which was nearly six years in the making. The satelliite was used as the basis for 40 research projects and three doctoral theses.</p>
<p>It is hoped that Estonian enterprises and research and development institutions will benefit the most from Estonia becoming a full member of the ESA –&nbsp;and it will also help develop a smarter economy in Estonia. As a full member, Estonian enterprises will have the right to take part in the ESA technology transfer programme; they will have the opportunity to grow in the ESA business incubators and to take part in the ESA procurements of space science and other programmes. Estonian space institutions may then use the ESA research laboratory and infrastructure. Estonian citizens may apply&nbsp;for ESA jobs and students may take part in the ESA training programmes.</p>
<p>Estonia’s full member status is expected to cost €2 million per year for the country.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Cover: ESTCube-1 by Taavi Torim (Wikimedia Commons).</p>
Source:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.estonianworld.com">www.estonianworld.com</a>Tue, 03 Feb 2015 22:00:00 GMThttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-2142Top 12 most outstanding Estonians in the world 2014http://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-2141
<div style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; background-color: #ffffff;" class="entry-thumb"><img style="border-width: 0px; border-color: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 0px; color: transparent; max-width: 100%; height: auto; width: 620px; vertical-align: middle;" alt="418334_10150658100839415_1534367711_n" class="attachment-single-project-thumbnail wp-post-image" src="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/418334_10150658100839415_1534367711_n-940x626.jpg" width="500px" /></div>
<p>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;"><a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc; float: left; clear: both;" id="dd_start"></a></p>
<h2>In the run-up to the Estonian Independence Day, Estonian World has taken a look back at the previous year once more and compiled a list of the most outstanding Estonians in the world in 2014.</h2>
<div style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; background-color: #ffffff;" class="entry"></div>
<p>How did we measure it? We took into account the achievements, their presence and influence in the international media, appearances in global leading cities and the number of international followers in the social media. It is important to emphasise that this is not the ultimate list of either the most important or famous or influential Estonians in the world. There are many others – from conductors to artists to photographers, from Estonian public servants in the EU institutions to Estonians doctors in Scandinavian hospitals to Estonian accountants in the City of London – who work hard every day to make life better for everyone. Merely, we have brought out the names of Estonians who had a larger than usual clout and impact last year – that in turn helped get the name “Estonia” to the lips of more people around the world.</p>
<h3><strong>12. Ilmar Raag (46), film director</strong></h3>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;"><a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" href="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/576949_10151106276719315_34197725_n.jpg"><img style="border-width: 0px; border-color: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 0px; color: transparent; max-width: 100%; height: auto; vertical-align: middle;" alt="576949_10151106276719315_34197725_n" src="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/576949_10151106276719315_34197725_n.jpg" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-13913" width="500" height="auto" /></a></p>
<p>A former TV-executive, Raag shot to fame in Estonia with his first feature film,&nbsp;<em>The Class</em>, in 2007. The film about school violence felt gruesomely real and shook the society so powerfully that it is still stuck in the memories of many. Raag’s film career didn’t come on about completely out of blue – he had received his master’s degree in screenwriting from&nbsp;Ohio University eight years earlier. 2014 saw Raag collaborating with Belarusian and Russian filmmakers and direct&nbsp;<em>I Won’t Come Back</em> – a moving look at survival and a heartfelt exploration into the depths of friendship and the meaning of acceptance. In September, Raag’s earlier feature,&nbsp;<em>Kertu, </em>was&nbsp;<a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" target="_blank" href="http://estonianworld.com/culture/estonian-director-ilmar-raags-kertu-among-50-best-european-films/">selected as one of the 50 best</a> European films, recommended for a nomination for the European Film Awards, by&nbsp;the European Film Academy.</p>
<h3><strong>11. Karmen Pedaru (24), supermodel</strong></h3>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;"><a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" href="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Karmen-Pedaru-Campaign-Francesco-Scognamiglio-FW-2014.jpg"><img style="border-width: 0px; border-color: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 0px; color: transparent; max-width: 100%; height: auto; vertical-align: middle;" width="500" alt="Karmen Pedaru Campaign Francesco Scognamiglio FW 2014" src="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Karmen-Pedaru-Campaign-Francesco-Scognamiglio-FW-2014.jpg" title="Karmen Pedaru campaign for Francesco Scognamiglio F/W 2014." class="alignnone wp-image-13925 size-full" /></a></p>
<p>Pedaru hails from a small Estonian town of Kehra and was raised by her grandmother after her mother died when Pedaru was only five years old. Discovered in 2005,&nbsp;at the age of 15&nbsp;in Tallinn, her 10-year career is the result of impeccable management. She started&nbsp;out&nbsp;on the catwalk during&nbsp;spring 2007 at the&nbsp;Christopher Kane and Marni shows that were&nbsp;followed by a slow but a&nbsp;steady run of editorials in 2008 for V and the&nbsp;Italian Vogue. In the subsequent years, she scored advertising contracts with Gucci and Michael Kors for 2011, where she replaced the first Estonian supermodel Carmen Kass as the new face of Kors, all while maintaining a strong presence on catwalks and in magazines. In 2013, she had a number four&nbsp;ranking in&nbsp;top&nbsp;50 models and number&nbsp;17 ranking in income, according to models.com. By late 2014, models.com ranked Pedaru already among the “industry icons”, joining the honourable list of models, such as Alek Wek, Amber Valetta, Eva Herzigova, Gemma Ward, Karolina Kurkova, Stella Tennant, Agyness Deyn and&nbsp;<a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" target="_blank" href="http://estonianworld.com/people/estonias-top-international-models/">Estonia’s own</a> Carmen Kass.</p>
<h3><strong>10. Mord Fustang aka Rauno Roosnurm (23), electro house and dubstep producer and DJ</strong></h3>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;"><a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" href="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Mord-Fustang.jpg"><img style="border-width: 0px; border-color: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 0px; color: transparent; max-width: 100%; height: auto; vertical-align: middle;" width="500" alt="Mord Fustang" src="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Mord-Fustang.jpg" title="Mord Fustang." class="alignnone wp-image-13928 size-full" /></a></p>
<p>The only Estonian in this list who is unfamiliar to most of his countrymen, yet whose name rings a bell among hundreds of thousands dance music fans in the US and elsewhere. Mord Fustang’s Facebook page alone has 188,000 fans – the second highest number for any Estonian. The young DJ from Kose, a small village near Tallinn, broke into global scene in 2011 with “The Electric Dream”, and the rest is history. The reclusive producer has avoided media attention in his native land and lived and toured in the US in last few years, where he has also shared bill with Eric Prydz, Paul Oakenfold, Fedde Le Grand and other superstar DJs. Fustang released his new album in January, 2015.</p>
<h3>9. Paavo Järvi (52), conductor</h3>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;"><a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" href="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Paavo-J%C3%A4rvi-by-Ventre-Photos.jpg"><img style="border-width: 0px; border-color: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 0px; color: transparent; max-width: 100%; height: auto; vertical-align: middle;" width="500" alt="Paavo Järvi by Ventre Photos" src="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Paavo-J%C3%A4rvi-by-Ventre-Photos.jpg" title="Photo by Ventre Photos." class="alignnone wp-image-13733 size-full" /></a></p>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Maestro Paavo Järvi is one of the world’s most prolific conductors. A truly global Estonian, Järvi regularly conducts the world’s finest orchestras, whether it be in Berlin or Moscow, Cleveland or Tokyo. His continuing directorship of Orchestre de Paris saw Järvi recently&nbsp;<a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" target="_blank" href="http://estonianworld.com/culture/maestro-paavo-jarvi-talks-paris-estonia-russia-music-estonian-world/">lead the opening performances of the world’s newest grand concert hall</a>, the Philharmonie de Paris. Järvi’s musicality is one which is deeply aware of the specific musical demands of a composition. Rather than applying a bland “one size fits all” approach to music, Järvi engages with the emotional, structural and conceptual essence of each piece. From his brisk and unrelenting approach to Beethoven, his grand, committed, yet nuanced, approach to Bruckner, and his aurally rich yet bucolic approach to Schumann, Järvi is a master of bringing out the most profound elements of a piece, all while making the music seem highly relevant to the modern world. Järvi’s embrace of modern and contemporary orchestral music has delighted audiences the world over and his championing of young composers and performances has made him greatly beloved amongst classical musicians.</p>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Despite his seemingly constant travels, Järvi remains committed to promoting Estonian music throughout the world as well as staging innovative performances and producing high-quality recordings throughout Estonia.</p>
<h3><strong>8. </strong><strong>Eiko Ojala (32), illustrator and graphic designer</strong></h3>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;"><a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" href="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Photo-Eiko-Ojala-Credits-Sten-Roosvald.jpg"><img style="border-width: 0px; border-color: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 0px; color: transparent; max-width: 100%; height: auto; vertical-align: middle;" width="500" alt="Photo-Eiko-Ojala-Credits-Sten-Roosvald" src="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Photo-Eiko-Ojala-Credits-Sten-Roosvald.jpg" title="Eiko Ojala giving presentation at TED Tallinn. Photo by Sten Roosvald." class="alignnone wp-image-13930 size-full" /></a></p>
<p>Another name on this list which is still relatively unknown in his homeland, but whose&nbsp;<a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" target="_blank" href="http://www.ploom.tv/">illustrations</a>speak volumes in some of the most influential media outlets in the world. Ojala, who draws everything by hand, still lives in Tallinn, but his distinctive and colourful forms of shapes, playing with light and shadow, have been published by&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" target="_blank" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/12/opinion/sunday/goodnight-sleep-clean.html?_r=2">New York Times</a>,&nbsp;<a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" target="_blank" href="http://www.ploom.tv/illustration/wired/">Wired</a>,&nbsp;<a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" target="_blank" href="https://www.behance.net/gallery/15410605/Eustace-Tilley-for-New-Yorker">New Yorker</a>,&nbsp;<a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" target="_blank" href="http://observer.com/2014/04/the-high-fliers/">NY Observer</a>,&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" target="_blank" href="http://www.ploom.tv/illustration/sunday-times-travel-magazine-72-hour-cities/">Sunday Times</a>,&nbsp;<a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" target="_blank" href="http://www.ploom.tv/illustration/harvard-business-review/">Harvard Business Review</a>,&nbsp;<a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" target="_blank" href="http://www.dwell.com/post/slideshow/graphic-designer-we-love-eiko-ojala">Dwell magazine</a> and&nbsp;<a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" target="_blank" href="https://www.behance.net/gallery/16222667/EIKO-OJALA-POUR-LE-MONDE">Le Monde</a>.&nbsp;His business client list is equally impressive and global – one can find HSBC Bank, Intel, Air France and Peugeot on it. World’s most prominent art book publisher Tachen includes his illustrations in its books and they were also featured at last year’s “Stanley Kubrick Tribute” exhibition at&nbsp;Spoke Art gallery in San Francisco. Ojala was also the winner of the “55th Annual Illustration Competition”, organised by Communication Arts (US), in 2014. “There is no point in seeking recognition. The point is to do your job so good that the recognition finds you,” says Eiko Ojala himself.</p>
<h3><strong>7. Anu Tali (42), conductor</strong></h3>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;"><a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" href="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Photo-by-Kaupo-Kikkas.jpg"><img style="border-width: 0px; border-color: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 0px; color: transparent; max-width: 100%; height: auto; vertical-align: middle;" width="500" alt="Photo by Kaupo Kikkas" src="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Photo-by-Kaupo-Kikkas.jpg" title="Photo by Kaupo Kikkas." class="alignnone wp-image-13929 size-full" /></a></p>
<p>Among the Estonian heavyweight conductors, such as Tõnu Kaljuste, Olari Elts, Eri Klas and Järvi triumphirate (Neeme, Paavo, Kristjan), Tali stands out as the only female Estonian conductor to make her mark internationally. She and her twin sister Kadri Tali founded the Estonian-Finnish Symphony Orchestra in 1997, when Anu was only 25. The orchestra, now called the Nordic Symphony Orchestra (NSO), still performs five times a year and has members from fifteen different countries. She has appeared with the Japan and Tokyo Philharmonic orchestras, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg at the Salzburger Festspiele, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, among others. Tali made her conducting debut in the US in 2005 with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, but it was the Sarasota Orchestra, the oldest continuing orchestra in the state of Florida, that named Tali as its next music director in 2013 and elevated her international career further still.</p>
<h3><strong>6-5. </strong><strong>Taavet Hinrikus (33) and Kristo Käärmann (34), founders, TransferWise</strong></h3>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;"><img style="border-width: 0px; border-color: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 0px; color: transparent; max-width: 100%; height: auto; vertical-align: middle;" alt="Portraits" src="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Kristo-+-Taavet-_DSC6116.jpg" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-13835" width="500" /></p>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Hinrikus and Käärmann already had promising international careers going for them, before setting up the money transfer firm, TransferWise, in London in 2011. Hinrikus was Estonian-developed Skype’s first employee and Käärmann worked for Deloitte, having set up his first company when he was 18. Two friends split their lives between the UK and mainland Europe and when the practicalities of life required them to do a money transfer between the two countries, came up with a simple scheme: Kristo put his pounds into Taavet’s UK bank account, and Taavet topped up his mate’s Belgian account with euros. To find a suitable exchange rate, the friends picked that day’s mid-market rate on Reuters. This way, they avoided paying enormous charges to banks and other conventional money transfer institutions. And that’s when they saw “the apple fall”. “We suddenly started to see a business sense in this. What if we added technology and turned this scheme into a global platform? This was the start of TransferWise,” Käärmann has said.</p>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">2014 saw the company&nbsp;<a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" target="_blank" href="http://estonianworld.com/business/richard-branson-invests-estonian-startup-transferwise/">attracting an investment</a> from a British billionaire, Virgin’s founder Sir Richard Branson. The firm now has 250 members of staff, 292 currency routes and its customers have transferred £3 billion using its&nbsp;platform.</p>
<h3><strong>4. Toomas Hendrik Ilves (61), president</strong></h3>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;"><img style="border-width: 0px; border-color: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 0px; color: transparent; max-width: 100%; height: auto; vertical-align: middle;" width="500" alt="file63708700_8c63a8cc" src="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/file63708700_8c63a8cc.jpg" title="Photo by Andres Putting." class="alignnone wp-image-13920 size-full" /></p>
<p>There were very few globally influential media outlets that didn’t quote or interview the tech-savvy Estonian president in some form or another in 2014. CNN, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, the New York Times, CNBC and al-Jazeera America led the pack of international media who wanted to hear Ilves’s views either on the Russian Federation’s role in the Ukraine crisis, Estonia’s transformation as an e-state or cybersecurity. With 43,000 followers, many of them globally influential, on Twitter and almost 100,000 followers on Facebook, Ilves has also a decent fan base on social media. Ilves has sometimes polarised opinions at home. Some Estonians see him as somewhat distant from the local matters, especially when it comes to social issues, yet Estonians abroad value him dearly, noting his international presence and ability to stand out.</p>
<h3><strong>3. Kerli Kõiv (27), singer-songwriter</strong></h3>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;"><img style="border-width: 0px; border-color: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 0px; color: transparent; max-width: 100%; height: auto; vertical-align: middle;" width="500" alt="By Brian Ziff I" src="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/By-Brian-Ziff-I.jpg" title="Photo by Brian Ziff." class="alignnone wp-image-13939 size-full" /></p>
<p>Hailing from a small town of Elva in southern Estonia, Kerli – as she is artistically known – is largely a self-made success story, but as always, luck and fate have also played a role. Kõiv was first introduced to music by her kindergarten teacher when she told her mother that Kerli had a “nice pitch” and encouraged her to take part in various singing competitions.&nbsp;By the age of 10, she succumbed into her own fantasy world, brought about by the non-healthy climate at her parents’ home. Writing stories and poems forecasted a rise of a distinctive personality, but her ambitious spirit had its first breakthrough when she won Estonian singing competition Laulukarussell&nbsp;at the age of 15 with the cover of Simon &amp; Garfunkel’s “Bridge over Troubled Water”. Around the same time, she also took part in a Baltic song contest, organised by Universal Music, and her win paved way to global path. However, a couple of years of struggle followed, which included squatting in Stockholm for three months. Her next big break came when she relocated to Los Angeles and after a year of performing and writing, finally got an audition with the American music industry legend, the record producer and executive L.A. Reid, who signed her, at the age of 19, to Island Music Group.</p>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" href="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/By-Brian-Ziff.jpg"><img style="border-width: 0px; border-color: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 0px; color: transparent; max-width: 100%; height: auto; vertical-align: middle;" width="500" alt="By Brian Ziff" src="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/By-Brian-Ziff.jpg" title="Photo by Brian Ziff." class="alignnone wp-image-13919 size-full" /></a></p>
<p>In 2008, Kerli became the first Estonian pop artist – and so far the only one – to break into Billboard 200 when her single “Love Is Dead”&nbsp;charted at number 126. Another success followed when “Skyscraper”, a song that Kerli originally wrote in 2011, but sung by a British singer Sam Bailey,&nbsp;<a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" target="_blank" href="http://estonianworld.com/culture/song-written-estonian-artist-kerli-becomes-uks-christmas-number-one-single/">became the Christmas No. 1 in the United Kingdom</a> in 2013. 2014 saw Kerli changing record labels, signing with the New York-based dance music label, Ultra Music, instead. The latter’s artist roster counts such electronic dance music artists as Calvin Harris, Benny Benassi and David Guetta among others. While some may argue that Kerli’s early accomplishments and distinctive style should have pointed to a more favourable stardom by now, she remains the most successful Estonian pop artist in the world, and by far the most popular Estonian in the social media – Kerli is followed by over 600,000 people on Facebook, 80,000 on Twitter and 40,000 people on Instagram.</p>
<h3><strong>2. Tõnu Kaljuste (61), conductor</strong></h3>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;"><a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" href="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/marcoanelli_gestures_31_Kaljuste.jpg"><img style="border-width: 0px; border-color: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 0px; color: transparent; max-width: 100%; height: auto; vertical-align: middle;" width="500" alt="Tonu Kaljuste" src="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/marcoanelli_gestures_31_Kaljuste.jpg" title="Photo by Marco Anelli." class="alignnone wp-image-13927 size-full" /></a></p>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Conductor Tõnu Kaljuste played an active role in keeping the Estonian choral tradition alive during the Soviet occupation, managing to get the finance and establish the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir in 1981. When Estonia regained its independence in 1991, Kaljuste became a global ambassador of Estonian choral and orchestral music. He has dedicated a major part of his work to the music of Estonian composers, such as Heino Eller, Arvo Pärt, Veljo Tormis and Erkki-Sven Tüür, whose compositions he has&nbsp;recorded for the ECM Record label. While by now one of the foremost choral directors in the world, Estonia has remained as his home base. However, that has not stopped Kaljuste working with many orchestras and choirs all over the world, such as the Swedish Radio Choir and the Netherlands Chamber Choir, for example.</p>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">2014 was a highly successful year for the Maestro. In January, Kaljuste won a&nbsp;<a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #1b8be0; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit;" href="http://estonianworld.com/culture/arvo-parts-adams-lament-wins-grammy-award-in-the-best-choral-performance-category/">Grammy Award in the Best Choral Performance</a> category for his work on Arvo Pärt’s album “Adam’s Lament” at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. In late May and early June, he conducted the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, performing the music of Pärt at&nbsp;<a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #1b8be0; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit;" href="http://estonianworld.com/culture/arvo-parts-concerts-in-washington-and-new-york-pictures/">four sold-out concerts</a> in the United States – two in Washington, DC, and two in New York City, including one at the world-renowned Carnegie Hall.</p>
<h3><strong>1. Arvo Pärt (79), composer</strong></h3>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;"><a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" href="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/arvo_part_E7V7278.jpg"><img style="border-width: 0px; border-color: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 0px; color: transparent; max-width: 100%; height: auto; vertical-align: middle;" width="500" alt="arvo_part_E7V7278" src="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/arvo_part_E7V7278.jpg" title="Photo by Kaupo Kikkas." class="alignnone wp-image-13917 size-full" /></a></p>
<p>It has been said by the Estonian music journalist, Immo Mihkelson, that Pärt’s compositions address everyone, attempting to appeal to that shared aspect of human kind which rises above nationality, skin colour and culture – it is as if the music wishes to say that we are all in it together. Indeed, Pärt commands respect and admiration from classical music fans from around the world, from Italy to Iran, and Belgium to Brazil. In fact, Pärt’s music became internationally renowned before most Estonians were aware of it because he was forced to emigrate from his home country with his wife and their two sons in 1980, after a prolonged struggle with the Soviet officials. Most Estonians learned about Pärt’s fame when “Te Deum” climbed the Billboard’s classical music charts for 52 weeks during 1994-95 and was later nominated for a Grammy Award. In last 20 years, however, Pärt has been universally revered as Estonia’s most famous son.</p>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;"><a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" href="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Maestro-Arvo-P%C3%A4rt-after-a-long-long-applause-at-the-Carnegie-Hall-concert-in-New-York-last-night.-Photo-by-Eleri-Ever.-e1408532613917.jpg"><img style="border-width: 0px; border-color: initial; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 0px; color: transparent; max-width: 100%; height: auto; vertical-align: middle;" width="500" alt="Maestro Arvo Pärt after a long, long applause at the Carnegie Hall concert in New York last night. Photo by Eleri Ever." src="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Maestro-Arvo-P%C3%A4rt-after-a-long-long-applause-at-the-Carnegie-Hall-concert-in-New-York-last-night.-Photo-by-Eleri-Ever.-e1408532613917.jpg" title="Maestro Arvo Pärt after a long, long applause at the Carnegie Hall concert in New York last night. Photo by Eleri Ever." class="alignnone wp-image-11938 size-full" /></a></p>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">But Pärt’s number one position in our list is not just based on his lifetime achievement. 2014 saw Pärt been given the title of the world’s most performed living composer by the classical music event database, backtrack.com. Few weeks later came the announcement that conductor Tõnu Kaljuste had won a&nbsp;Grammy Award in the Best Choral Performance&nbsp;category for his work on Pärt’s album “Adam’s Lament” at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. In addition to multiple performances around the world, Pärt’s music was performed at&nbsp;four sold-out concerts&nbsp;in the United States – two in Washington, DC, and two in New York City, including one at the world-renowned Carnegie Hall, which was also honoured by the Maestro’s own attendance. Finally, in October, the Japan Art Association presented Pärt with the prestigious&nbsp;<a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" href="http://estonianworld.com/culture/photos-arvo-part-awarded-by-japanese-prince-hitachi/">Praemium Imperiale</a> cultural award. The award is considered equal to the Nobel Prize in the field of culture, and was presented to the Maestro by the patron of the association, Prince Hitachi of Japan.</p>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Thanks to photographers:&nbsp;<a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" target="_blank" href="http://www.eleriever.com/">Eleri Ever</a>,&nbsp;<a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" target="_blank" href="http://www.kaupokikkas.com/">Kaupo Kikkas</a>,&nbsp;<a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" target="_blank" href="http://www.marcoanelli.com/">Marco Anelli</a>,&nbsp;<a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" target="_blank" href="http://www.brianziff.com/#/79675/">Brian Ziff</a>,&nbsp;<a style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;" target="_blank" href="http://www.roosvald.com/">Sten Roosvald</a>.</p>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">Source:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.estonianworld.com">www.estonianworld.com</a></p>
</p>Sat, 31 Jan 2015 22:00:00 GMThttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-2141Estonia eighth in the world by economic freedom, second in Europehttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-2140
<div class="entry-thumb" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; background-color: #ffffff;"><img src="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Tallinn-III.jpg" class="attachment-single-project-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="Tallinn III" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 0px; color: transparent; vertical-align: middle; max-width: 100%; height: auto; width: 620px;" /></div>
<h2>According to the latest economic freedom index, compiled and published by the Heritage Foundation, a Washington, DC, based think-tank, Estonia has the eighth freest economy in the world, and the second freest in Europe, behind Switzerland.</h2>
<p>The Heritage Foundation said that despite the eurozone crisis and a half-decade of weak regional growth, Estonia’s domestic economy has proven resilient and economic freedom has advanced. “Since 2011, economic freedom has increased in a majority of the 10 factors, with strong improvements in the property rights regime and the entrepreneurial environment,” the think-tank said in a foreword to Estonia brief.</p>
<p>According to the foundation, the past three years have helped confirm Estonia as a regional leader in economic freedom, reestablished as one of the world’s 10 freest economies for the first time since 2007. “Minimal state interference has been accompanied by a prudent fiscal policy, a commitment to open markets and overall regulatory efficiency.”</p>
<p>The&nbsp;<a href="http://www.heritage.org/index/ranking">2015 Index of Economic Freedom</a>, compiled in partnership with the Wall Street Journal,&nbsp;showed that Estonia’s economy was the eighth freest. “Its overall score is higher than last year, reflecting improvements in six of the 10 economic freedoms, including business freedom, freedom from corruption and labor freedom. Estonia is ranked second out of 43 countries in the Europe region, and its overall score is well above the regional and world averages,” the think-tank said.</p>
<p>Estonia was surpassed by Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, Canada and Chile.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Cover: Tallinn skyline by&nbsp;<a href="http://www.genvagula.com/">Gen Vagula</a>.</p>
<p>Source:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.estonianworld.com">www.estonianworld.com</a></p>Mon, 26 Jan 2015 22:00:00 GMThttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-2140Taxify mobile application expands to the Netherlandshttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-2139
<div class="entry-thumb"><img alt="Taxify_IMG_0252" class="attachment-single-project-thumbnail wp-post-image" src="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Taxify_IMG_0252-940x626.jpg" width="500" /></div>
<div class="entry-thumb"></div>
<div class="entry-thumb"></div>
<h2>Taxify, an Estonian-founded taxi booking application, is launching in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, in collaboration with Aemstel Taxi.</h2>
<div class="entry">“I am truly happy to finally launch&nbsp;<a href="http://taxify.eu/">Taxify</a> service in Amsterdam. It’s a big day for the Dutch taxi customers. Amsterdam is a big deal for us, so we have invested heavily in our team and into the training of the taxi drivers in order to make this a big success,” Markus Villig, the founder and CEO of Taxify, said in a statement.</div>
<div class="entry">
<p><a href="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Taxify_CEO_Markus_Villig.jpg"><img width="500" alt="Taxify_CEO_Markus_Villig" src="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Taxify_CEO_Markus_Villig.jpg" title="Taxify CEO Markus Villig." class="alignnone wp-image-13825 size-full" /></a></p>
</div>
<p>“Taxify has taken such a smart approach and sensible way to tap this vast market that I strongly believe we will succeed here in the Netherlands too. We have amazing stats – on average Taxify users gets order confirmation within 10 seconds and taxi arrives in 4 minutes. With the current co-operation here in Amsterdam I believe we will be able to provide the same service level for Amsterdam taxi customers.” Matthijs Draijer, the Taxify Country Manager in the Netherlands, added.</p>
<p>The Taxify app enables smartphone users easily book the closest licensed taxi in real-time and for free of charge. After the order is confirmed, one can see the approaching taxi on the map. Customers can also rate the driver and share feedback after their ride.</p>
<div class="entry">
<p><a href="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/IMG_9395.jpg"><img width="500" alt="IMG_9395" src="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/IMG_9395.jpg" title="Amsterdam." class="alignnone wp-image-13824 size-full" /></a></p>
<p>The taxi market in the Netherlands and in Amsterdam has been stagnant for decades, according to Taxify. “The difficult regulatory situation has enabled the taxi dispatch centres holding the monopoly to take over the market and to lock smaller taxi companies into their system,” the company said in a statement.</p>
<p>Taxify was founded in Estonia in 2013 and is growing in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland. The firm is also present in Belarus, Georgia and Poland. In 2014, it was named Estonia’s best mobile application. In late 2014, the firm&nbsp;<a href="http://estonianworld.com/technology/taxify-raises-e1-4-million-expand-central-europe%E2%80%A8/">raised</a> €1.4 million in funding from multiple international investors, to expand into new markets.</p>
<p>Pictures: Taxify.</p>
<div class="entry"></div>
<div class="entry">Source:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.estonianworld.com">www.estonianworld.com</a></div>
</div>Wed, 21 Jan 2015 22:00:00 GMThttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-2139Estonian-Georgian movie “Tangerines” nominated for an Oscar!http://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-2138
<h3 style="border: 0px; margin: -8px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 30px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: #333333; text-align: justify; background-color: #ffffff;"><img alt="mandariinid" height="275" width="500" src="http://estoniaeuadm.estonia.eu/images/news/mandariinid.jpg" /></h3>
<h2>The Estonian-Georgian movie, “Tangerines” (“Mandariinid” in Estonian), has been nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category for the 87th Academy Awards.</h2>
<p>The shortlist of five nominees was selected by specially invited committees in New York, Los Angeles and London.&nbsp;“Tangerines” is the first Estonian film nominated for an Academy Award. &nbsp;</p>
<p>“Tangerines” has become the most successful film involving Estonian filmmakers, notching up tens of international awards since 2013.&nbsp;Previously, it has won Special Award of Mannheim-Heidelberg and Audience Award at the International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg 2013, Best Director Award from Warsaw International Film Festival,&nbsp;Best Estonian Film at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2013, Best Director at the Tbilisi International Film Festival 2013, Crystal Phoenix for Best Picture and for Best Screenplay at the 32nd Fajr International Film Festival 2014, and Best Picture at the Bari International Film Festival 2014.</p>
<iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MMXjmYmwp-o" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The movie tells a story that takes place in 1992 during the war in Abkhazia in an Estonian village that was situated there. In the village, whose residents have fled from war, injured fighters from two opposite sides of the battle front happen to all be staying in the same house of an Estonian elder. The leading roles are played by Estonian actors Lembit Ulfsak and Elmo Nüganen, and Georgian actors Giorgi Nakhashidze and Mihhail Meskhi. It was produced by an Estonian film producer Ivo Felt and cost&nbsp;650 000 euros to make. The filming took place in the Guria region in Georgia<span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; background-color: #ffffff;">.</span></span></p>
<p style="border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; text-align: justify; background-color: #ffffff;"><a href="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Tangerines.jpg" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: #0099cc;"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-7915" src="http://estonianworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Tangerines.jpg" alt="Tangerines" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 0px; color: transparent; vertical-align: middle; max-width: 100%; height: auto;" /></a></p>
<p>Estonian World’s film critic Birgit Drenkhan said in 2013 that “Tangerines” had a potential to take Estonian filmmaking to a completely new level.</p>
<p>“For me, this film opens a new chapter in the Estonian cinematic history. “Tangerines”, although war is always around, is not a war film. War just helps bring out the most important message (as white looks brighter in front of black). The story is about being human and, no matter what, believing in the human kind. The story is balanced, without being too dramatic or brutally funny. A serious subject is dealt with through subtle humour. The director knows psychology and how to manipulate with the viewer, so he takes us to an emotional rollercoaster by making us both laugh and cry. It is also an artistically beautiful movie with nice nature scenes, impressionistic sunsets and close-ups of an old man’s hands making woodwork,” Drenkhan said.</p>
<p>The film was produced by Estonian film production company Allfilm and Georgian production company Cinema 24.</p>
<p>The Oscars gala will be held on 22 February at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.</p>
<p>The other nominees for the Best Foreign Language Film (see the “Tangerines” announcement at 42:00) are:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ida” by Paweł Pawlikowski (Poland)</p>
<p>“Leviathan” by Andrey Zvyagintsev (Russia)</p>
<p>“Timbuktu” by Abderrahmane Sissako (Mauritania)</p>
<p>“Wild Tales” by Damián Szifrón (Argentina)</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Cover: Screenshot from the movie (leading actor Lembit Ulfsak). Credit:&nbsp;<a href="http://allfilm.ee/en/">Allfilm</a>.</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://www.estonianworld.com">www.estonianworld.com</a></p>Wed, 14 Jan 2015 22:00:00 GMThttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-21382014, the year of Estonian e-residencyhttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-2134
<p>If you search for “e-residency” on the internet, the first hit you will get is that of <a href="https://e-estonia.com/e-residents/about/">e-Estonia.com</a>, the home of e-residency, explaining everything you need to know about becoming an Estonian e-resident, i.e. getting state-proven digital identity for non-residents.</p>
<p><a href="http://estoniaeuadm.estonia.eu/news/551-2014-the-year-of-estonian-e-residency">Read more...</a></p>Sun, 21 Dec 2014 19:08:53 GMThttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-2134Tallinn receives its own piece of remembrance of the Berlin Wallhttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-2133
<p>Among the countless events of remembrance commemorating 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the placement of more than 7,000 illuminated balloons tracing the Berlin Wall's former route, which were then released into the sky one by one on the evening of Nov. 9, no doubt received the most media coverage.</p>
<p><a href="http://estoniaeuadm.estonia.eu/news/550-tallinn-receives-its-own-piece-of-remembrance-of-the-berlin-wall">Read more...</a></p>Mon, 10 Nov 2014 10:52:49 GMThttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-2133U.S. President Barack Obama visiting Estonia on Sept. 3http://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-1714
<p>Just prior to the NATO summit in Wales, the President of the United States of America, Mr. Barack Obama will be visiting Tallinn, Estonia.</p>
<p><a href="http://estoniaeuadm.estonia.eu/news/549-us-president-obama-visiting-estonia-on-sept-3">Read more...</a></p>Mon, 01 Sep 2014 16:21:37 GMThttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-1714August 23 (1939, 1989 and today)http://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-1713
<p>25 years after the Baltic Way, one of the largest peaceful protests in the world, the Latvian Foreign Ministry referred to it as "the day holding hands changed history". And considering the troubling and complex crises throughout the world today, this seems all the more amazing.
<p><a href="http://estoniaeuadm.estonia.eu/news/548-august-23-1939-1989-and-today">Read more...</a></p>Thu, 28 Aug 2014 17:33:25 GMThttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-1713The Estonian Song &amp; Dance Celebration starts today! http://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-1712
<p><undefined:undefined:p>If you cannot be in Tallinn, watch live via the internet.</undefined:undefined:p> <undefined:undefined:hr id="system-readmore"></undefined:undefined:hr> <undefined:undefined:img src="http://estoniaeuadm.estonia.eu/images/2009-aasta-tantsupidu-67768511.jpg" height="205" width="315" alt="2009-aasta-tantsupidu-67768511" style="float: right;"></undefined:undefined:img><undefined:undefined:p></undefined:undefined:p></p>
<p><a href="http://estoniaeuadm.estonia.eu/news/546-the-estonian-song-a-dance-celebration-starts-today-">Read more...</a></p>Fri, 04 Jul 2014 13:03:22 GMThttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-1712Who won the European Museum of the Year award and why did Estonian museums refuse to close for the night?http://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-1680
<p><undefined:undefined:p>From May 14-17, Tallinn played host to the European Museum Forum 2014, culminating in the presentation of the European Museum of the Year Award 2014.</undefined:undefined:p> <undefined:undefined:hr id="system-readmore"></undefined:undefined:hr> <undefined:undefined:img alt="emya_tallinn_cropped" width="322" height="91" src="http://estoniaeuadm.estonia.eu/images/emya_tallinn_cropped.jpg" style="float: right;"></undefined:undefined:img> <undefined:undefined:p>This year's Museum Forum programme can seen here: <undefined:undefined:a href="http://www.emya2014.eu/Programme"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.emya2014.eu">http://www.emya2014.eu</a>.</undefined:undefined:a></undefined:undefined:p></p>
<p><undefined:undefined:p><undefined:undefined:a href="http://www.emya2014.eu/Programme">Programme</undefined:undefined:a></undefined:undefined:p> <undefined:undefined:p>The European Museum of the Year award has been presented since 1977 and the impressive list of winners over the years can be seen running down the right hand side of the European Museum Forum's web page: <a target="_blank" href="http://europeanmuseumforum.info/emya.html"><undefined:undefined:a href="http://europeanmuseumforum.info/emya.html">http://europeanmuseumforum.info/emya.html</undefined:undefined:a></a>.</undefined:undefined:p> <undefined:undefined:p>The list of this year's nominees was also long and prestigious: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.emya2014.eu/Nominations"><undefined:undefined:a href="http://www.emya2014.eu/Nominations">http://www.emya2014.eu/Nominations</undefined:undefined:a></a></undefined:undefined:p>. <undefined:undefined:p>But before introducing this year's winner, an unusual occurance happened on the same night in museums all over Estonia... They call it Muuseumiöö, the Night of Museums, and it also featured English-language tours: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.muuseumioo.ee/en"><undefined:undefined:a href="http://www.muuseumioo.ee/en">http://www.muuseumioo.ee/en</undefined:undefined:a></a></undefined:undefined:p> <undefined:undefined:p>All together, an estimated 75 000 people attended Museum Night in Estonia according to Estonian Public Broadcasting in English <a target="_blank" href="http://news.err.ee/v/Culture/b9d0192f-58c8-4cda-8ae0-0b392a88cf38"><undefined:undefined:a href="http://news.err.ee/v/Culture/b9d0192f-58c8-4cda-8ae0-0b392a88cf38">http://news.err.ee/v/Culture/b9d0192f-58c8-4cda-8ae0-0b392a88cf38.</undefined:undefined:a></a></undefined:undefined:p></p>
<p><undefined:undefined:p>And the award went to.... Well, you can watch the awards ceremony and find out: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgLijXo0WaI"><undefined:undefined:a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgLijXo0WaI">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgLijXo0WaI</undefined:undefined:a></a></undefined:undefined:p> <undefined:undefined:p>But we'll cut to the chase and let you in on the fact that he European Museum of the Year Award 2014 went to Nobel laureate writer Orhan Pamuk's Museum of Innocence in Istanbul, Turkey <a target="_blank" href="http://www.masumiyetmuzesi.org/?Language=ENG"><undefined:undefined:a href="http://www.masumiyetmuzesi.org/?Language=ENG">http://www.masumiyetmuzesi.org/?Language=ENG</undefined:undefined:a></a>.</undefined:undefined:p></p>
<p><undefined:undefined:p>Mr Pamuk was in Tallinn to receive the award:</undefined:undefined:p> <undefined:undefined:p>ETV Interview: Turkish Nobelist Pamuk on Museums, Memory and Melancholy<undefined:undefined:a href="http://news.err.ee/v/Culture/e430cd0d-4cde-40f5-9468-761ebe615f98"> <a target="_blank" href="http://news.err.ee/v/Culture/e430cd0d-4cde-40f5-9468-761ebe615f98">http://news.err.ee/v/Culture/e430cd0d-4cde-40f5-9468-761ebe615f98</a></undefined:undefined:a></undefined:undefined:p> <undefined:undefined:p>The list of all the award-winners and special commendations can be seen at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.emya2014.eu/index.php?page=207"><undefined:undefined:a href="http://www.emya2014.eu/index.php?page=207">http://www.emya2014.eu/index.php?page=207</undefined:undefined:a></a></undefined:undefined:p> <undefined:undefined:p>Tallinn's own Lennusadam / Seaplane Harbour of the Estonian Maritime Museum received special commendation "For the impressive maritime atmosphere with spectacular, theatrical exhibition design beautifully integrated into the building and for the evident central position of the visitor at the heart of the online experience which allows them to download information whilst walking through the exhibition."</undefined:undefined:p> <undefined:undefined:p>When in Tallinn, you must come and see this extraordinary new museum, which opened in spring 2012:<undefined:undefined:a href="http://lennusadam.eu/en/"> <a target="_blank" href="http://lennusadam.eu/en/">http://lennusadam.eu/en/</a></undefined:undefined:a></undefined:undefined:p> <undefined:undefined:p>&nbsp;</undefined:undefined:p> <undefined:undefined:p>&nbsp;</undefined:undefined:p></p>Mon, 26 May 2014 10:27:37 GMThttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-1680Daily Dozen with New York-based Estonian artist Jaanika Peernahttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-1679
<p>On the occasion of the April 15th opening of Jaanika Peerna's first solo exhibition in Espoo, Finland, online magazine <a href="http://www.arterritory.com">www.arterritory.com</a> (Baltic, Russian and Scandinavian art territory) interviewed Estonian-born, New York-based artist Jaanika Peerna, who is currently spending a year in Berlin.</p>
<p><a href="http://estoniaeuadm.estonia.eu/news/542-daily-dozen-with-new-york-based-estonian-artist-jaanika-peerna">Read more...</a></p>Tue, 22 Apr 2014 13:51:26 GMThttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-1679(The Müürileht) Interview: Toomas Hendrik Ilves (on music, subcultures and a lot more)http://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-1678
We went to see the President of Estonia to talk about music, subcultures and evolving culture; Estonian self-esteem, manners and success; leaving and returning; contemporary world view and a more tolerant and optimistic society.
<p><a href="http://estoniaeuadm.estonia.eu/news/541-2014-03-27-15-01-48">Read more...</a></p>Thu, 27 Mar 2014 14:09:36 GMThttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-1678Tallinn Music Week reveals conference line-up featuring Pussy Riot and Robert Levinehttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-1677
Tallinn Music Week (TMW), the annual music conference and showcase festival, has unveiled its most impressive line-up yet. From March 27-30, the Nordic and Baltic region's premier music event will be buzzing with industry heavyweights, activists and journalists, as well as 227 bands from 20 countries.
<p><a href="http://estoniaeuadm.estonia.eu/news/540-tallinn-music-week-reveals-conference-line-up-featuring-pussy-riot-and-robert-levine">Read more...</a></p>Tue, 25 Mar 2014 15:04:19 GMThttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-1677Free and secure internet – can it be achieved?http://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-1676
<p>A part of the preparations for the Freedom Online Coalition’s conference “<a href="http://freedomonline.ee/">Free and Secure Internet for All</a>” – which will take place during the Estonian ICT Week – is a document that focuses on one central question: how to enforce and ensure the promise of a free and secure internet for all.</p>
<p><a href="http://estoniaeuadm.estonia.eu/news/539-free-and-secure-interet-can-it-be-achieved">Read more...</a></p>Fri, 21 Mar 2014 09:47:57 GMThttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-1676Hungary: Estonian week 2014http://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-1675
<p>The traditional Estonian week in Hungary is taking place between 17 March and 4 April 2014. It is being organised by the Estonian Institute in Hungary for the 7th time.</p>
<p><a href="http://estoniaeuadm.estonia.eu/news/538-hungary-estonian-week-2014">Read more...</a></p>Wed, 19 Mar 2014 11:19:17 GMThttp://shanghai.vm.ee/frontpage/news/aid-1675